Young Ballerina + Beach, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, Summer of 2014

For this priceless dancer we dedicate the campaign for dance costumes. The idea of landing on the island with a suitcase of beautiful fabrics gives me chills, even more so when I imagine these dancers performing their art in the costumes on the beach.

While we still have a distance to go, a few generous souls from this social circle have put us well on the path to achieving the budget necessary for these costumes. Should this young girl speak to you, then please follow the link below to make your mark, to provide the costumes with which she will move on this very beach! 

She is a goddess, and at her altar I bow with my camera in praise. 

My relationship with her family is quite special, and humbles me. We exchange messages via email now and then, always the bright spot of my week. Here is one example of her messages, more than anyone could wish for from another human being.

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"Halim, sus palabras me han conmovido y me han recordado un libro que guardo con mucho amor desde pequeña, "El Principito" escrito por Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Es un libro de amor y de amistad. Un libro que también habla de las estrellas que ríen como cascabeles porque nos recuerdan a un amigo, y así es, las distancia es burlada, cuando sentimos que el cielo es nuestro techo, el techo de todos y una estrella nos refleja el alma de un amigo. Entonces es dulce en las noches mirar al cielo…"

"Halim, your words have moved me and I recalled a book that I save with much love since little, "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It is a book of love and friendship. A book that speaks of the stars that laugh like bells because they remind us of a friend, and as such, the distance is overcome, when we feel that the sky is our roof, the roof of each and a star shows us the soul of a friend. So sweet at night looking at the sky…"

When someone wonders, "why do you visit the island every year?" I point to this image, and to the words above.

www.halimina.org

Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Young Model + Scarf, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, Summer of 2014

We met almost five years ago while she was modeling at my friend's school in Havana, Cuba. She was just starting off and had the most striking features at such a young age, an old soul trapped in a young shell perhaps. We exposed a roll for her that same day, and have remained in touch since then, making this portrait just last summer on the island.

She had seen my work with the Muslim communities from Asia and wanted to present her spin, thus the shawl in this portrait. She was having a lot of fun with it, and it all seemed so surreal to me… a Cuban woman on the beach with a shawl over her hair. There were times when I thought I was somewhere else, only to be snapped back onto the beach by the scent of salt and the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand. This is what makes photography so magical!

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